ShopSavvy hires PayPal Mobile product lead for move into NFC payments and promotions

The mobile barcode-based shopping service has hired PayPal Mobile’s former product lead to spearhead the introduction of an NFC-enabled mobile wallet that will let users store bank and credit cards as well as coupons, gift cards, instant rebates, loyalty cards and cash-back rewards on their mobile phones.

SHOPSAVVY: The shopping service, which has more than 10 million users, is to introduce an NFC-enabled mobile wallet

The former product lead for PayPal Mobile has joined smartphone shopping developer ShopSavvy to lead its introduction of near field communication applications.

Matthew Weathers, who becomes vice president of product at ShopSavvy, was part of the founding team for PayPal Mobile. He led the mobile product team for four years and helped to develop the product suite for three business lines: P2P payments, eBay mobile checkout, and mobile merchant services.

ShopSavvy is one of the most widely embraced shopping apps for Android, the iPhone, Nokia and Windows smartphones and has more than ten million active users.

In January the company introduced QuickPay on both the iPhone and Android platforms. The feature, similar in functionality to Amazon’s 1-Click ordering, enables consumers to very easily buy an item on the phone and have it shipped home. QuickPay 1.0 uses PayPal but the company plans to unveil QuickPay 2.0 in the near future, which will support credit cards and become a wallet to enable point-of-sale purchases via NFC.

“QuickPay will allow ShopSavvy users to use the app as an integrated wallet, making purchases from both local and online retailers without needing cash or a credit card in hand,” Weathers says.

“I am excited about the opportunity to develop this element of ShopSavvy as we work to extend our lead as the number one app for shoppers.”

QuickPay 1.0 allows consumers to scan a product barcode and have information about that product sent directly to them. Participating retailers will automatically display a QuickPay button that users can click to access PayPal and complete the purchase.

But QuickPay 2.0 takes the process a step further, turning smartphones into fully featured mobile wallets. ShopSavvy consumers will be able to store credit cards and bank accounts and save money by also storing coupons, gift cards, instant rebates, loyalty cards, and cash back rewards in their QuickPay wallet.

The news comes after it emerged last month that ShopSavvy had teamed up with discount deals website Groupon. Offers will be delivered via ShopSavvy’s Deals tab, a Twitter-like stream of offers, promotions and coupons.

Alexander Muse, co-founder of ShopSavvy, said: “ShopSavvy plans to enhance Groupon’s value for our users by sending them only the deals we know they will be interested in, based on their shopping history, location and preferences.”